JAKARTA, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Soldiers, police and rescuers are searching for a chartered helicopter with five people on board that lost contact on Sunday in North Sumatra of Indonesia, an official said here Monday.
A light single-engine Eurocopter EC130 operated by PT Penerbangan Angkasa Semesta lost communication with the North Sumatra air traffic control about 17 minutes after taking off from the airport in Samosir island, said Zainul Tjahar, spokesman of the national search and rescue office.
The plane was heading toward the Kulanamu airport in Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra, he told Xinhua by phone.
Tjahar said that the five people on board include two crews and three passengers.
In August, an aircraft operated by Trigana Air Service with 54 people on board, went missing in remote Papua after losing communication with the air traffic control. The plane was found one week later with all people on board killed.
